The St. Vincent de Paul Home Visitation program will receive $16,607 to help get homeless families into housing and to help prevent homelessness through rent and utility bill assistance and other aid.

The Maslow Project will receive $16,607 to help homeless kids, including those in the Ashland School District.

The group helps with food, clothing, school supplies, transportation to school and other needs, with a goal to help youths graduate and become self-sufficient adults.

Living Opportunities, which helps people with developmental disabilities live and work in the community, will receive $14,566 to renovate the exterior of its Ashland Community Employment Services Building.

The building is used to support employment and recreation activities for special-needs populations.

Councilors decided to give money to Living Opportunities rather than funneling $14,466 to the city government's Ashland Energy Efficiency Program, which improves the energy efficiency of homes occupied by low income households.

In order to avoid conflicts of interest, Councilor Pam Marsh, the manager of the food bank, and Councilor Greg Lemhouse, president of the food bank's board of directors, did not take part in the discussion of the grants or vote on the allocations.